four times they were late & one time they weren't
by McMuffin
Summary: Four times Mark and Addison were late at Christmas and the one time they weren't.


_Written for the 2010 ga_fanfic Secret Santa at LiveJournal. Pretty much just Maddison fluff. :)_

* * *

four times they were late and one time they weren't**

* * *

**

December 23. The day of the Forbes-Montgomery's annual Christmas Eve Eve party. Addison's always there, playing the perfect studious young adult role; the perfect child. She's always dressed beautifully and on time. She greets their guests courteously, and makes everyone feel at home in a mansion that she hardly considers home.

But not this year. Because her stupid boyfriend kept her in bed just a little too long and they missed their flight.

"Damn it, Sloan!" she shrieks, not caring who sees or hears her outburst in this crowd. She's furious.

"Calm down," he tells her softly, "I'll find us another flight."

"You better!" she hisses and tugs her Burberry coat around her – as much as she detests being the spoilt princess and acting the part of it when her family are concerned, she does love fashion, and Burberry coats are one of her favourite things.

Once Mark secures them a new flight, things are calmer and there is no more cursing from Addison. They make it onto the plane with little stress and luckily there were first class seats available as Mark refuses to sit next to a grumbling Addison in coach. He learnt very early on in their relationship that while she can wear sweats all day and eat Chinese takeout in bed, there are some things (namely fashion, restaurants, hygiene and airplanes) that she has to have posh and expensive - what she is accustomed to. They find their seats and are barely seated when she gasps and bites her lip.

"What? What did we forget?" he asks, going through the mental checklist. He's usually good with remembering things - he's had to take care of himself for most of his life. There's nothing he can think of - Christmas presents are in their luggage, which is safely stored below, and as for their party clothes, they're dressed in them already - yet she's still staring at him with wide eyes.

"What?" He repeats.

"I'm not wearing any panties!" She whispers it so softly he barely understands, but when it registers he bursts out laughing.

"You're what?" He manages while trying to stop snickering.

"Mark Sloan!" she hisses, running a hand through her red tresses. "This is not funny!"

"No, I think it is. How did you not notice you weren't wearing panties until now?" he whispers, placing his hand on her thigh as they relax, or try to, in their first class seats.

"Well we were in a rush to get on _this_ plane. Which is your fault, by the way." She forcefully removes his hand from her thigh, it being all too close to the panty-less part of her body.

"It was yours, too. I can't help being wildly attracted to you," He chuckles and rests his elbow on her right armrest - she has the window seat of course. He's barely perched on his seat to be able to talk to her without having to speak loudly, considering the topic of conversation. He kind of hates flying first class for this reason - it's impossible to have a conversation, and growing up all he wanted was a conversation with his parents. Then it was too late and all he was left with was a dead mother and a couch-ridden father and no conversations except with the staff.

Addison rolls her eyes and stares out the window, her fingers drumming on her armrest as she muses. They'll have missed more than half of the party when they finally arrive but she'll still had to suffer through hours without any panties - unless she can find a way to get some from her luggage and put them on before they reach the estate.

"Babe, it'll be okay - you can get them from your suitcase and go to the bathroom to put them on."

"When?"

"Well, princess, you're just going to have to brave the public toilets or simply duck to the bathroom after some greeting people," he tells her with a smirk. He shifts back into his seat and buckles up his seatbelt as the captain's voice comes through the speakers. He doesn't expect a response from his girlfriend, she's too self-immersed in family worries, so it comes as a little bit of a shock when she reaches over to take his hand and leans forward to smile at him. He'd been expecting her to ignore him for the remainder of the flight after that comment, she seems more stressed than she was for their college finals.

"I don't appreciate being called 'princess' but thank you for being so...rational. I go a bit crazy where my family is concerned... And when I'm not wearing panties!" She adds the last part in a quick whisper and he smirks.

"This will make our mile high sex easier, at least," he comments with a grin. She drops his hand and scoffs. It was worth the shot.

* * *

"Mark!" Addison hisses, "Mark!"

He's in the process of fixing his tie, and looks up with a "hmm?"

"Where'd you throw my panties?" she demands, "I am not arriving without panties this year! And we _cannot_ leave them in the car, Bizzy will kill me!"

Mark glances around the backseat of the Rolls Royce and doesn't see them. "Oh." They're dangling off of the turn signal and he snares the black lace in his hand, holding them out to her with a smirk. She snatches them from him.

"Why are you looking so smug? We're late! We were late last year, too! God, I was never late until you came along!"

Mark grins, "You love me."

"Be grateful that I do. I'm putting up with Bizzy's wrath for you," she grumbles, pulling on her panties under her dress. "Captain's been fucking her hairdresser, so she had to stop going to her favourite salon. She's madder than usual."

Mark's eyebrows rise. Never a dull moment in the lives of the rich. It's the same for his relatives, but he's never cared much for them and he's rather estranged from them - for which he is grateful. He'd love to never attend one of these parties again, but he understands Addison's commitment to her parents. It's the same as his to his father, he still visits every year for his dad's birthday when he'd prefer to ignore the old bastard completely.

"So I should tell her that her hair looks good?" he asks with a grin, on the verge of laughing.

Addison huffs, rolls her eyes and returns to fixing her hair in her compact mirror. "Why did the car have to break down? We're only five minutes away!"

"We could have walked," he says.

She glances out at the snow covered countryside and sloudy sky. "In that temperature? In these heels? I don't think so."

"Well then, quit your complaining," Mark muttered, already unhappy about the upcoming party, he doesn't need his girlfriend turning into a priss on him.

Addison huffs again and takes out her lipstick to touch up her smudged red lips. "Where's Robert? It's been almost half an hour. I wish we had cell reception so we could find out what's happening." She ponders about the family driver while dabbing at her lip.

Mark slides further down in his seat, wrinkling his Caraceni suit. "It takes at least twenty minutes to walk to your house, five minutes to explain what happened, and another five minutes to return. By my calculations, he's on schedule." He speaks crisply.

Addison finishes with her lipstick, quickly dabs some more concealer under her eyes to hide the shadows caused by their late night - sex, of course - and flight. She deems herself as perfect as she can be and turns towards Mark. She slips her feet over his legs and scoots forward, careful not to catch a crystal from the light blue Versace dress on any part of the car's backseat.

"Mark." She speaks softly, running a hand through her curled locks and then over his cleanshaven jaw. He's staring out the window at the dusty snow falling to the ground. "Talk to me," she whispers, skimming a thumb over his chin. "Please."

He looks at her, his eyes stony. "You know how much I hate these things, I don't need you turning into one of _them_ on me."

"I'm not - "

"Don't try to deny it, Ads. You revert into your posh self at these events - as do I - but I don't want to have to be a façade when we're alone." He wraps his arms around her.

"Sorry," she whispters, leaning forwards to kiss him.

Mark kisses her back and smiles. "It's OK."

Addison kisses the corner of his mouth and grins devilishly. "Why-y is it so cold?" she says in a whiny voice, and Mark's about to warn her that he has a short fuse today, when she continues. "The temperature's making my nipples so hard. And why is Robert taking so long? This is not acceptable, we have been made to wait for much too long. And these panties, gosh, whoever made these has no idea how much material it takes to cover an ass." She giggles and moves into his lap while he smirks. "And your erection, I don't think that is very appropriate," she scolds.

Laughing, Mark drops his hands to her butt, bunching up her dress. "I agree. There is not enough material in these panties," he speaks huskily before crashing his lips against hers.

His hands grope her ass and she grinds her hips against his, their tongues battling together. A moan escapes Addison's parted lips and she finds herself to be very aroused as he massages her butt. Her breasts graze his chest and breaking the kiss for a moment, Mark finds her nipples are erect. His lips are upon hers again in an instant, his tongue snaking into her mouth to seek out hers. Mark reclines a little more, she's straddling him now, and he's about to pull her panties down when there's a loud tap on the window. They stop their actions to see Bizzy's glove-coated hand rapping an unbrella against the window. Mark removes his hands from Addison's ass, lets her dress drop down and gulps as Addison moves to perch next to him (as opposed to on top of him) and open the door. In their passion they hadn't heard the second car drive up.

"Mark Sloan, I'd have hoped you'd have put your college ways behind you?" Bizzy states with an arched brow before looking at her daughter. "Your lipstick's smudged."

She returns to the other car and Robert tells them they'll be waiting for them to join them. Addison closes the door to their Rolls Royce and bites her lip as she sinks back into Mark's lap.

"Oh, shit."

* * *

Addison's in a forest, running wild with the deer, birds circling her head. The sun sparkles above, glaring, lighting up the river that flows parallel to her path. She's barefoot, thick grass cushioning every heavy step. This time of year's her favourite. Spring. Dew coats every surface and mingles with the sweat sticking to her chest. She turns her head and smiles; one of the bluebirds is whistling her favourite tune in her ear. A little further and her friends will join her – the seven dwarves.

She can hear their whistling as she nears their cottage, and a grin spreads across her face. She hears Doc call out to her from inside and she's about to enter the cottage when someone tugs on her hand and she spins around, the blue silk of her dress swirling and disappearing as she does. She comes face to face with her boyfriend, who's smiling down at her. Her red locks are splayed across the pillow and she can smell pancakes. Turning her head, Addison blinks a few times until said stack of pancakes on the bedside table comes into focus. She smiles and inhales deeply, sending the intoxicating sugary smell so far into her sinuses it's like she can taste them, while her other senses see the snowflakes falling outside the window, hear the hum of cars and feel the warmth from her boyfriend's body. She moves to sit up and she finds Mark is holding her hand - that explains how she woke up from Disneyland.

"Morning," He smiles.

"Good morning... you made me breakfast," She grins.

"I did," he matches her grin and leans in to kiss her softly, releasing her hand. She wraps her arms around his neck and notices, gasping into the kiss. Mark pulls away from her lips with a grin and Addison raises her left hand close to her face to glimpse the diamond ring nestled on her fourth finger. Her grin stretches further than previously thought possible and she looks at him, locking in on his cerulean eyes.

"Mark..." she whispers.

"Addison... will you marry me?"

She barely waits before speaking. 'Yes! Of course I will!"

One more glance at the ring and she crashes her lips against his. Her arms splay across his back and he hovers above her. Mark slips his tongue into her mouth and kisses her passionately until it's as if someone's launched her into space. When the vacuum of the stars gets to her, however, she pulls away to catch her breath. He kisses down her neck and across her chest, flitting his tongue down her sternum. Addison giggles when he places kisses on her breasts and his tongue flicks her nipples.

"Eat your pancakes," he tells her with a chuckle and she laughs.

"But I prefer this." She pouts as he moves further down the bed, placing soft kisses along her stomach.

"Who says this has to stop? All you have to do right now is lie there eating your pancakes and being gorgeous," he whispers before continuing his journey down to her core.

Both have completely forgotten about the flight they're meant to be catching, and they definitely ignore every angry phone call from her parents.

* * *

"But your due date's not for two weeks!" Mark exclaims merely a minute after Addison's water breaks early in the morning. She experienced some contractions in her sleep, but she brushed them off as Braxton Hicks. It wasn't until she woke up in a pool of liquid that she realised this was true labour.

"I know that! Don't you think I know that? Hurry up and get the damn keys!" she shouts, pulling on sweatpants as she refuses to go to hospital in her candy cane patterned pyjamas, unlike her husband who couldn't care less (and who looks sexy in anything.)

"I... Right." Mark dashes off to grab the car keys, his wallet and phone before coming back into the living room to help her out to the car, a contraction hitting just before she gets into the vehicle. She braces herself against the door and he rubs her back, telling her to breathe like she's been taught (and how she's told many other women to breathe on her OB rotations.)

Addison finds his whole nervous-first-time-father persona very cute most of the time, but when she's in labor and about to push out their daughter through a relatively small hole, she finds it annoying. He drops the keys on the ground and she groans as he bends to pick them up, wanting to scream at him. Getting in the car, Mark's hand is jittery as he moves to start the engine and this time she does scream.

"Mark! Stop freaking out and drive me to the fucking hospital! You're not the one about to give birth, and you're not the one who's put up with crap from her body for the last nine months. Do I have to drive myself there?"

He meets her eyes briefly, and the stone cold stare she's giving him is enough to snap him out of his nervous mood and send him somewhat back to his usual cocky self. "Yes ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am," she mutters through gritted teeth.

This angry annoyance continues throughout the next six hours, with Addison grumbling at Mark constantly. 'Stop touching my hair, rub my back, we're never having sex again, I don't care if you need to pee, you suck, etc' are common phrases from her mouth. Mark's nervousness eventually paves the way to excitement and he puts up with her killing his hand with her grip and cursing the day he was born because he knows this is only a consequence of the pain she's going through (she refused an epidural) and because his daughter's going to be born soon.

It's not until Addison has their baby girl crying in her arms that all of her tired, frustrated thoughts disappear. Nothing matters else but the tiny baby in her arms and her husband sitting next to her and stroking her cheek. She's fascinated by her daughter, and she's sure she'll never forget this moment. It's perfect. Elodie Rebecca Montgomery-Sloan is perfect.

* * *

"Alright, kiddo, you've gotta get in the car," Mark tells the six year old Elodie who is currently refusing to get into the Mercedes.

She's inherited the stubborn streak possessed by both of her parents and she likes to push the boundaries whenever possible. She's a curious child, experimenting by finger painting on all surfaces of their brownstone, trying to walk in her mother's shoes, and testing the various methods of killing snails. She loves all other animals, however, only insects meet her wrath. Their labradoodle, aptly called "Lab" (full name: Labcoat) as named by the one and only Elodie, is her best friend, followed by her parents.

Elodie's an only child, not for lack of trying. When she turned three they started trying for another baby, even trying IVF when they discovered some issues with Addison's fertility. But after three failed IVF attempts they returned to simply making love to try and make a baby. If it happens, it happens. And it's not something they discus often as both have recently started their fellowships and they're under enough stress from work. They'd love another child but they are more than content with their daughter - who is currently jumping in puddles.

"El, we've gotta go pick up mommy from the hospital and go to the airport. We can't be late to see Grandma and Grandpa. We're always late when we visit them!"

"But don't wanna see grawma and grawpa!" Elodie protests, jumping into a particularly muddy puddle and splashing her father.

Mark groans and tugs his coat further around his body.

"You love grandma and grandpa," he says, trying to put on the brightest smile about Bizzy and the Captain. They're not his favourite people in the world, nor Addison's, but they decided not to pass their disdain onto their child.

"Yes but I don't wanna go car!"

"How come, munchkin?" he asks, moving to pick her up and stop her from drenching herself.

"Because you and mommy said there is lots of car crashes when it's snow!" Elodie pouts, "I don't want to have a car crash."

"Oh, bub, just because mommy and daddy see lots of car crashes at work, it doesn't mean we would have one. I _am_ one of the best drivers in the city," he winks.

"Really?" She questions, quirking an eyebrow just like her mother does.

"Really. Now we need to go because if we miss our flight we'll have to drive to Connecticut!" It's not that far a drive, and he doesn't really mind, but he knows his girls would.

"But I hate driving!" Elodie pouts.

It seems that she didn't really pay attention to what he was saying and still seems to fear driving. Mark groans internally, reminding himself to not mention work-related things like that again.

"If we go to the airport then we only have to drive a little bit, El," he says with exasperation evident in his voice.

"Fine," She pouts again.

He shifts her in his arms. "I'll play that Spice Girls CD that you like."

"OK! I wanna listen to tack five." She holds up four fingers.

"OK, bub," He chuckles.

Driving to the hospital takes twenty minutes - five minutes more than Elodie can stand, and she practically leaps from her car seat once he opens the door, getting out of the car as if it's going to kill her. They pass Derek on their way to find Addison and have a brief conversation before they rush off to find Addison. She's in the residents' lounge and Elodie announces their arrival with:

"Mommy! We did not die!"

And launches herself into her mother's lap. Addison groans but wraps her arms around her daughter anyhow, glancing curiously at her husband.

"I'll explain later," he mouths.

Addison sweeps back a strawberry-blonde lock from Elodie's face and grins at her bouncing daughter. "Excited to see Grandma and Grandpa?" she asks, leaning back into the couch.

"Yes but no car!"

Addison looks to Mark for clarification again and receives the same response. "Okay... well, El, Uncle Derek's just out there doing charts, do you wanna see if he'll take you up to get an ice cream from the cafeteria?"

Elodie's eyes light up and she runs off to find Derek. Mark trails behind her to check that his best friend's still there before he returns to his wife in the lounge. "Ad, we'll miss the flight and have to drive - and Elodie's scared of having a car crash after we were talking about that pile up the other day."

"Oh... It's okay, we're taking the jet, they can wait," Addison grins.

"What about the Chief? He'll be mad if he learns we didn't really need today off," Mark frowns, not exactly a favourite of the Chief's after the debauchery that he and Derek have gotten up to in the hospital over the years. Addison, however, is the favourite of all of the senior doctors.

"Don't worry, hon," she smiles, standing up to loop her arms around his neck and kiss him. Mark smiles into the kiss and slips his tongue between her parted lips, kissing her in the way they can't with Elodie around to make retching noises. They kiss passionately until the need for oxygen becomes too great and they break apart. Addison wipes at her lips and smiles.

"Mark?"

"Yeah?" He looks at her, still grinning from the kiss.

"My period's late... and I know it's not the right timing with our fellowships and work, but - "

"You're pregnant?" He manages with a gasp, his voice caught in his throat. Addison nods and a peal of laughter escapes Mark's throat as he wraps his arms around her. "Adds! That's fantastic. This is fantastic! Who cares if we have our fellowships? _This_ is fantastic."

Addison giggles as he lifts her off the ground, believing every word he says as he twirls her around.

This is fantastic. Their life is fantastic.


End file.
